Ruth Bright find the Liberal Democrats still have a long way to go to achieve gender balance: "I was shocked by the ... balance of male and female Lib Dem councillors on the counties." "Ferenc Takács is a retired professor of English in Budapest, witty, urbane and past-caring enough to go on the record. 'The worst feature is the general fear in the country,' he told me. 'People won't express views on Facebook. Teachers are afraid to say critical things about their head teacher or the government.' Matthew Engel has been to Viktor Orbán's Hungary. "How far will the West ...
I learned a new term yesterday: the 'Dachau School'. You might be able to guess what it means - I did, and I was right. Unfortunately.I've actually just had a double-dose of exposure to the brutality human beings are capable of inflicting on fellow human beings. Yesterday I visited Sachsenhausen (picture), the former Nazi concentration camp just north of Berlin where my grandfather spent 12 days in November 1938 before my grandmother got him out with something of a bluff. And today I visited Hohenschönhausen, the Stasi interrogation centre of the former East Germany, which to all intents and purposes ...
The new Liberator contains reviews of a couple of publications that seek to restore some philosophical backbone to the Liberal Democrats. One is Towards a Liberal Future by Bernard Greaves and David Howarth. You can download it for free (as a pdf) from the Liberator website. You can also subscribe to Liberator there too. The other publication is Four Go in Search of Big Ideas by Helen Flynn, Iain Brodie Brown, Gordon Lishman and Ekta Prakash. You can buy it from the Social Liberal Forum website for £9.50.
Belgrave Hall has been the chief victim of the cuts to Leicester's museums (which were originally going to be much worse). The Hall itself is no longer open to the public, but is let as a wedding venue and for other special events. And its gardens are only open on Wednesdays and one weekend a month. But this is one of those weekends, so I went along to take some pictures.
The Democrats and Veterans Party was launched in the UK in 2018, with John Rees-Evans as its leader. He had previously hit the national stage as a two-time Ukip leadership candidate who complained that a gay donkey had raped his horse.
You know, I've been trying to write a review of this for four days now. My problem is that I really liked it, much more than many non-debut plays, but I had a couple of nits that I wanted to pick. So here come the nits: - it's marketed as a "sexy scifi comedy" - for those of you who, like me, look out for the phrase "sexy comedy" to mean "this treats sexual assault as amusing" you don't need to worry about that. - it's got a budget of about 50p. Clever scripting and direction means this is not ...
Second paragraph of third chapter: He resisted. At the age of thirty-five he was supposed to be in the prime of his health and at the peak of his power. It was why his grandfather had finally consented to cede leadership to him, why the rest of No Peak accepted that the mantle had passed from the legendary but old and ailing Kaul Seningtun to his grandson. If word got out that the Pillar of the clan was suffering health problems, it would not reflect well on him. Even something as mundane as insomnia might arouse speculation. Was he mentally ...
It is with a heavy heart that I must report that the Liberal Democrats are at it again. Their current consultation on 'a liberal immigration policy' has been the subject of condemnation from many party members. As so often, I find myself agreeing. The immigration issue is another example of the Lib Dems failing to ... Continue reading What will it take for the Lib Dems to get bolder?
As the numbers get crunched and the trends analysed now that nominations for May's local elections are closed, one piece of news is already very clear. And it's really good news. The far-right BNP has not even been able to put up a candidate to defend its last remaining council seat: And... the BNP have lost its last councillor – no candidate up to defend the seat. https://t.co/00pOjcTNzQ — Ben Walker (@spreadsheetben) April 7, 2018 The BNP may have risen from legal extinction, but the party's decline continues.
Focus Team members at the timetable display in Yate Bus station A proposed new bus service looks set to bring major improvements to commuting from and to Yate. At the moment there are big gaps in the high speed direct services in the rush hour. There are slower services of course, but even they only go to Bristol Bus Station and don't serve the central business area, Harbourside and Clifton. After discussions with Yate Town Council, First Bus are now planning a new route three times an hour and going as far as Colston Street in the City Centre. It ...
It really is the majority of the time whether we on the left are willing to admit it or not. There have only been 4 General Elections since the 2nd World war when the the left has had a significant majority in the House of Commons. Then again it could well be argued that whilst Tony Blair had a huge majority his was hardly a government of the left and probably it was only just left of centre. Could the same or similar be said of Harold Wilson's Government? What started this line of thought was that I happened upon ...
I feel incredibly proud to know Scottish Liberal Democrat Councillor Ben Lawrie who has talked about his experience of Depression in this short film. It takes courage and You should be aware before you watch it that it includes his description of an attempt to take his life. He wants to share his experience to help others going through it, which I think it will. When I was growing up experiencing the sorts of things Ben went through, it would have been useful to know that I wasn't alone and that this was an illness not some defect in my ...
Fri, 12:56: RT @green_grainger: So there was a MYSTERY at the library today. A wee old women came in and said "I've a question. Why does page 7 in all... Fri, 16:05: Dinosaur Discovered In Scotland Would Have Had Thick Accent, Scientists Confirm https://t.co/FW3wg8x4xr LOL. Probab... https://t.co/ux55eW5fdE Fri, 18:49: The Man Who Spoke Snakish, by Andrus Kivir�hk https://t.co/iatzrRCpcn Fri, 20:48: Morbid Monday : Kissed to Death https://t.co/8QGimZGYvq Bizarre sexual office politics, New York, 1909. Fri, 21:42: RT @peprally: Has anyone else noticed when time travelers grab you buy your shoulders and ask what year it is and you tell them, ...
Issue 389 of Liberator is on its way to subscribers. This issue starts with assessments by Paul Hindley of the Bernard Greaves and David Howarth booklet Towards a Liberal Future – which is available as a free download at: www.liberatormagazine.org.uk – and by Susan Simmonds of the Social Liberal Forum's Four Go In Search of Big Ideas: putting progressive Ideas at the heart of politics. See: www.socialliberal.net Our two free sample articles from this issue concern two major controversies in the recent news that have not yet played out. Lib Dem peer Trevor Smith looks at how the collapse of ...
Lib Dem Councillors John Dodd, Daniel Lewis, and Nigel Ashton are holding their next advice centre on Saturday 14th April from 11 am to 12 noon at St John's Primary School, Rufford Road, Crossens. We will be there to meet you and discuss any Council problems you may have. No appointment necessary. Just pop in. We also hold a monthly advice centre in Churchtown, at BoxTree Kitchen for Queenscourt café, Manor Road/Cambridge Road, roundabout, fourth Thursday of every month (except December) from 10:30 to: 11.30 am. We will be there to meet you and discuss any Council problems you may ...
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Lib Dems call for Special Council Meeting to consider Mayor Anderson's "We'll pay for all of new EFC...
Liverpool Council must never be the only investor in a new stadium for Everton Football Club at Bramley Moore Dock Some people have suggested that I have been spending too much time and looking too hard at Liverpool Council's proposals ... Continue reading →
f you follow the detailed development of party policy you may be aware that the deadline for written responses to the party's current consultation papers passed yesterday although the online consultation remains open until 1pm on 12 April. As a member of the Immigration, Refugees and Identity working group I wanted to thank all of those who submitted such thorough responses to our own paper. LDV has carried some articles about the paper and this seems a good moment to offer my own perspective on some of the criticisms that have emerged - which is by no means to dismiss ...
From Sheena Wellington :Tannahill Weavers - The Steeple, Nethergate - Wednesday 11th April at 7.30pm Tayside fans of legendary folk band the Tannahill Weavers thought they were going to miss out on their 50th Anniversary Tour when maintenance work on HMS Unicorn threatened to scupper their planned 11th April gig there. With this special tour involving some 80 gigs, and ranging from the Rockies to the Rhineland, getting the band on another date was proving impossible. Step forward the good folk at The Steeple in the Nethergate! They heard of the problem, had the date available and so the show ...
Last July, Marstons submitted a planning application to spruce up the outside of the Wheatsheaf on Lower Broad Street. At the time, I said the plans "do not suit historic Ludlow and will damage the historic character of Lower Broad Street." New plans have now been submitted. They remove a large sign one the west wall by the Broadgate. Plans to replace the pub name panel on the front of the pub have also been dropped. These plans are a great improvement and I think they are now fit for approval (17/03335/ADV). The revised proposals The July 2017 proposals
Over on the Guardian website, the full extent of the divisions within Labour over allegations of anti-Semitism and racism has been laid bare. They say that leaked minutes show fierce disagreements on the party's ruling body over disciplinary action against those accused of such transgressions. The paper reports that key supporters of Jeremy Corbyn have attempted to block action against Labour members facing complaints: The minutes of the meeting in early March show how fractured the disciplinary body has become and sources said cases involving Corbyn supporters were regularly automatically viewed as being politically motivated. Among the cases which Corbyn ...
